


Carmen Sandiego holiday fics

by Animedemon01



Category: Carmen Sandiego (Cartoon 2019)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-01
Updated: 2019-12-23
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:02:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 10,638
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21626518
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Animedemon01/pseuds/Animedemon01
Summary: A collection of 12 fics that will be posted at different times before Christmas.
Relationships: Dash Haber/Zack (Carmen Sandiego), Dr. Saira Bellum/Countess Cleo (Carmen Sandiego), El Topo | Antonio/Le Chèvre | Jean-Paul, Gray | Crackle/Original Male Character, Ivy (Carmen Sandiego)/Original Female Character, Julia "Jules" Argent/Carmen Sandiego | Black Sheep, Moose Boy (Carmen Sandiego)/Otter Man (Carmen Sandiego), Paper Star/Tigress | Sheena, The Mechanic (Carmen Sandiego)/ The Driver (Carmen Sandiego)
Comments: 39
Kudos: 169





	1. Baby Black Sheep's first Christmas

Normally Coach Brunt never bothered with any sort of holiday decorations, but this year was Black Sheep’s first Christmas. Brunt wanted to give the child as normal as a life as her circumstances allowed for, and celebrating holidays was a good start.

Even though not all the operatives (or even all the members of the head faculty, for that matter) celebrated Christmas, it was agreed upon that n assignments would be given, unless for some reason, they had to specifically be done on the 25th of December. This meant that, safe for a few operatives that had their own apartment or house somewhere, pretty much every operative was currently on the island.

Despite the large number of people on the island on Christmas, it always seemed so quiet and lacking in holiday spirit. This wasn’t too surprising, however, as many of the operatives didn’t have the fondest memories of the holidays. Because joining VILE meant cutting of contact with everyone you knew, VILE ended up with a lot of operatives who didn’t have the best lives before joining. Quite a few operatives had been disowned by their families (it wasn’t uncommon for LGBT operatives to have joined because they had been disowned), or simply didn’t have any family at all.

Coach Brunt made sure to decorate the entire island as much as possible. She put up lights and garland everywhere, and since she couldn’t find a pine tree to cut down and decorate, she made do with a large palm tree, which she displayed in the main entrance of the academy. A few operatives even decided to help her decorate, sharing their happiest memories from holidays past as they did so.

After the decorations were taken care of, Coach Brunt moved on to food. It wasn’t Christmas without cookies, so she made every kind of cookie she knew how to. Again, a few operatives volunteered to help, and in the end, they had baked hundreds of cookies. Producing so many cookies hadn’t been her original goal, so Brunt ended up giving away most of them to any operatives who wanted them.

Finally, there was the issue of presents. Coach Brunt hadn’t thought about getting Black Sheep anything earlier, and now it was the day before Christmas, and she didn’t have time to leave the island and get anything. Dr. Bellum had suggested that she wrap up some of the toys the baby already had, since she was too young to remember seeing the toys before, and would likely care more about unwrapping them, then she would about playing with them. Brunt was initially against the idea, but ended up caving when she realized that she had nothing else to give the baby as gifts.

Before putting Black Sheep to bed that night, Coach Brunt made sure to read her _‘Twas the Night Before Christmas_. Being so young, Black sheep didn’t take much interest in the story, and tried to chew on the book instead.

The next morning, Coach Brunt gave Black Sheep the presents she had wrapped.

“Merry Christmas, Lambikins.” She said to the baby. “This is just your first Christmas, and I’ll make sure your second Christmas is even better.”

Black Sheep only replied with some happy baby babbles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, how was chapter 1? I'll be back on the 3rd with chapter 2: Jeantonio.


	2. Jeantonio

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Antonio and Jean-Paul spend Christmas in Paris.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Decided to post this chapter a little early, don't think anyone will mind, lol.

With the island being destroyed earlier that year, Jean-Paul had suggested they spend Christmas in Paris. They got a hotel room in the heart of the city, not too far from the Eiffel Tower, for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. From the glass windows of the room, they could see a large part of the city, covered in a white blanket of snow. It was the most romantic thing they had done in quite a while.

The first thing they did on Christmas Eve was go ice skating. Jean-Paul knew how to skate fairly well, but Antonio had never been before, and it showed. Nevertheless, they still had a great time, and stopped for hot cocoa at a café near the rink afterwards.

Next, they made their way to one of the many Christmas markets in the city. They had both already bought a gift for the other before leaving for the trip, but it didn’t hurt to look. The market was filled with the wonderful smell of baked goods, and it wasn’t long before they found themselves in front of a delicious-smelling cookie stall.

“These are called _Lebkuchen_.” The woman running the stall had told them. “They come from my native country; Germany. They are like gingerbread, but better.”

The cookies were large, so they bought one to share. The flavor was incredible, and Jean-Paul ended up buying half a dozen more cookies for him and Antonio to share later that night.

“ _Dankeschön_.” The woman said as they left. “Enjoy your holiday.”

By the time they left the market, it was already starting to get dark, but Jean-Paul wanted to take Antonio to just one more place before they headed back to the hotel.

“This is a little different from what else we have done today, but I still want to show you, _Mon Amour_.” He told Antonio. “It always reminds me of some of my fondest childhood memories.”

Jean-Paul took Antonio to a street with little shops on both sides. The stores themselves were almost all closed, but their Christmas front window displays still shined brightly. The two of them went up one side of the street, and then down the other, pausing to look at each beautiful window display.

After they had seen all the window displays, they headed back to the hotel to have a romantic dinner before heading to bed.

They woke around eight the next morning to exchange gifts. Jean-Paul gave Antonio a winter hat and gloves that he had picked up last time he was in London, and Antonio gave him a sweater he had bought in Norway.

Unlike the day before, they didn’t go out on Christmas, instead choosing to spend it in the hotel together. They spent most of the day cuddling in bed and watching Christmas movies originating from various countries.

They knew that in the morning they would have to wake up early to be shipped off to wherever their next assignment would be, but right now they didn’t care. It was Christmas, and all they had to think about was each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 3 will be up on the 5th.


	3. Carulia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carmen meets up with Julia before the holiday.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, posting a little early.

For the last few years, Julia had spent Christmas alone. In a way, it was her choice. She never got along with her family, and always dreaded going to see them for the holidays. She stopped visited them a few years ago when she realized she didn’t have to; just because she was related to them, didn’t mean she was obligated to visit them. But still, she always found this time of year to be a bit lonelier than usual.

Her partner, Chase, was in a similar situation; disowned by his family a few years back after they found out he was seeing a male colleague. His solution for the loneliness was to throw himself into his work and ignore the holidays completely. This wasn’t unique to the time of year, however, as whenever Chase was experiencing any sort of turmoil in his personal life, he would simply throw himself into his work and act like nothing was the matter.

Julia was prepared to spend another Christmas alone, but about a week before the 25th, she found a strange letter in her mailbox. The letter was in a red envelope and lacked a stamp or any postal markings, indicating it had not been mailed.

_Jules,_

_I want to talk to you,_

_Meet me tomorrow at noon inside Creme de la Crepe._

_Sincerely,_

_You know who._

She hadn’t heard from Carmen since they last clashed, and she was more than happy to hear from the other woman, especially knowing they wouldn’t be fighting this time.

The next day, Julia entered the café a few minutes before noon. She spotted Carmen at a table near the entrance, clad in her usual red attire. The thief smiled when she noticed Julia and motioned for the shorter woman to come over.

“Its been a while, hasn’t it, Jules?” She said as Julia sat down at the table across from her. “I ordered you a latte; they should be bringing it over soon.”

Lattes were Julia’s favorite type of coffee drink, but she didn’t know how Carmen could’ve known that.

“Your letter said you wanted to talk to me.” Julia said simply. “Is this about what happened with ACME?”

Carmen shook her head. “No, nothing like that. Its about the holidays, actually. I’m going to be gone on Christmas eve and Christmas day visiting a friend who’s alone for Christmas, but we’ll be celebrating a belated Christmas on the 26th, and I wanted to know if you would like to join us, so long as you’re willing to fly to America for it.”

“I would love to.” Replied Julia. “As embarrassing as it is, I don’t actually have any plans for Christmas. I’ll have to catch a flight late Christmas day, however, as I want to check in on Chase before I go. He always throws himself into his work this time of year, but I know deep down he doesn’t like being alone for Christmas.”

Carmen gave a nod. “I would’ve invited Chase, too, but there’s no way a guy like that could put aside our differences for a day, and just celebrate the season together. Plus, Zack’s boyfriend is an Ex-VILE operative, which would just complicate the issue of having Chase there even more.”

“If an Ex-VILE operative is going to be there, do you think my presence as an ACME agent might be a problem?”

“I doubt it; Dash probably does even know who you are, or that you work for ACME.” She replied. “Just don’t bring up anything about ACME or VILE and everything should be fine. Worst case scenario, he spends the whole time avoiding you.”

Julia smiled. “Well, I guess I’ll see you on the 26th? Where in the world will I be meeting Carmen Sandiego?”

“Meet me at the San Diego airport.” Carmen explained. “From there I’ll pick you up and bring you to my place. I’ll have to blindfold you, so you don’t know where it is, though.”

Julia nodded. “That’s perfectly understandable.”

“Well, I have to be getting back soon.” Said Carmen. “But before I go, I have something to give you, Jules.”

She handed Julia a present wrapped in red paper before leaving the café and disappearing into a crowd of people.

Inside the package was a box of Julia’s favorite chocolates. She had no idea how or why the great Carmen Sandiego knew so much about her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See you on the 7th with chapter 4.


	4. Haberzackary

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With everyone else in Australia visiting Graham, Dash and Zack spend the holiday together.

“You two gonna be okay while we’re gone?” Ivy asked them as she was getting ready to leave.

Ivy, Carmen, and Shadow-San were going to visit Graham in Australia for Christmas, as he didn’t have any family to spend it with. Due to the fact that VILE thought he was dead, Dash couldn’t travel internationally, even with a good disguise, so he was stuck at the hideout for Christmas. Zack, not wanting his boyfriend to be alone, had decided not to go with the others to Australia, instead spending Christmas in San Diego.

Everyone would be back on the 26th, on which they would celebrate a belated Christmas, but on Christmas eve and Christmas day, it would just be the two of them.

“We’ll be fine, sis.” Replied Zack. “VILE has no idea where our hideout is, and even if they did, they’d be much more interested in wherever Carmen and Shadow-San are going, anyways.”

“It will be nice for the two of us to have some time alone.” Added Dash. “And besides, VILE doesn’t send out operatives of Christmas, except under extreme circumstances.”

“I forgot about that.” Said Carmen. “We’ll still have to be on the lookout the days before and after Christmas, but it’s unlikely they’ll be anyone after us on the 25th.”

“If there are any issues while we are gone, you can contact Bobcat.” Shadow-San told them. “Of course, it would take her a while to get to you, especially considering how the roads up near her can get this time of year.”

Bobcat was a serial identity thief, and an ex-VILE operative who had faked her death a few years back and was now living as a veterinarian in Colorado under a presumably stolen identity. Because she had changed her name since then, and because Shadow-San was unsure if the name he originally knew her as was her own, they all just referred to her as Bobcat. She had graduated the same year as Shadow-San, and as far as anyone could tell, the two had always had a friend’s with benefits type relationship.

Carmen looked at her watch. “Uh, guys? If we want to make our flight, we should probably get going now.”

Ivy nodded and turned to where Zack and Dash were sitting. “I guess I’ll see you two in a few days. And Zack, try to behave while I’m gone, okay?”

Zack smirked. “Can’t make any promises, sis. See you later.”

Ivy gave him a look but didn’t say anything else.

“So, we’ve got almost two days until Christmas, and almost three days alone.” Said Dash after the others had left. “What do you want to do first?”

Zack thought for a moment. “How about we have sex out here on the couch while everyone’s gone? We’ll _never_ get another chance to do that.”

Dash face palmed. “Is sex _all_ you ever think about? I meant setting up the tree and getting this place ready for Christmas. Besides, do you even _know_ how hard getting stains out of this material would be?”

Zack looked disappointed. “Fine, we’ll set up the tree. But, do I still get some Christmas lovin’ later on?”

“Of course, but in our bed; not on the couch.”

Their Christmas tree was fake, partially because nobody wanted to deal with the mess pine needles created, partially because it was really had to find a real tree in San Diego. Zack tried to set up the tree on his own, insisting he knew what he was doing. But after his spectacular failure of an attempt, Dash ended up setting up the tree himself.

Next came the issue of decorating the tree. Dash wanted to stick with a traditional red and gold theme for the tree, while Zack wanted to decorate it with the assortment of random ornaments he’d bought. After a bit of arguing, Dash finally caved, and let Zack put some of his ornaments on the tree, so long as they didn’t detach too much from his careful theming.

By the time the Christmas tree had been set up, it was already getting late. While Zack and Dash knew they had more work to do to be completely ready for Christmas, they had another day to get it all done, so they didn’t worry. They had dinner, watched a Christmas movie that was playing on the TV, partook in a little pre-Christmas lovin’, and went to sleep.

The next day, after a light breakfast, they got back to their Christmas preparations. Dash had sewn stockings for everyone earlier that month (he had experience sewing from when he worked for a tailor before joining VILE, so when he had complained of being bored stuck in the hideout all day, they ended up buying him a sewing machine), which they hung up. Dash had even sewing a stocking for Player, who would not be physically there, but would still be dropping in on the 26th virtually.

They ended up going a little overboard with the lights and garland, which was going to be a pain to get cleaned up after Christmas. But at least the hideout looked festive.

Despite neither of them knowing how to bake, they decided to try their hand at making some Christmas cookies. Three batches of burnt cookies, and one small fire later, Zack ended up running out and picking up some premade cookies to decorate instead. At least this way they could at least take _some_ credit for the cookies without the possibility of burning the place down.

By the time they had finished all the little things needed for Christmas, it was once again dinner time. Much like the night before, they decided to watch a Christmas movie after dinner. Unlike the previous night, however, this time they watched multiple Christmas movies and drank a little too much wine. They ended up passing out on the couch a little before midnight.

They both woke up hungover on Christmas morning. Zack wanted the two of them to exchange gifts then, but Dash wanted to sleep a little longer, so he had to wait. It wasn’t until noon when Dash was ready to get up.

Dash’s gift to Zack was a blanket he had spent the better part of December knitting. Zack’s gift to Dash was a few more skeins of yarn (real wool, of course, as the acrylic stuff caused Dash to break out in hives), and a couple of yards of fancy fabric he’d picked up while in London the month before.

They spent the rest of their last day along just enjoying each other’s company.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 5 will be up the 9th.


	5. Visiting Graham in Australia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carmen, Ivy and Shadow-San visit Graham in Australia for the holiday.

“Welcome back to the land down under!” Graham greeted Carmen, Ivy and Shadow-San as they exited the airport. “It’s a real treat to have you here for Christmas!”

“It’s nice, to see you, too, Gray.” Said Carmen.

“How many times am I gonna have to remind you its Graham, not Gray.” He chuckled, looking around. “Oi, wasn’t there another bloke with you last time you came down here? A redheaded fellow, if I remember correctly.”

“Zack couldn’t make it; his boyfriend got sick.” Carmen lied. “They were both supposed to come, but Zack’s boyfriend, Dash, fell ill suddenly, and had to go to the hospital. He doesn’t have any family, so Zack decided to stay back in America with him.”

As much as Carmen hated lying to Graham, it was often easier than having to go into the details of what was really going on. Telling the truth about why Zack and Dash couldn’t come to Australia would lead to move questions, and the possibility of Graham hearing something about VILE that could trigger one of his memories from his time there.

“That’s a bloody shame.” Said Graham. “Not only missing the trip but being sick this time of year. We’ll have to make sure to get something special for you to bring back to them. What do they like?”

“Zack likes anything he can eat-except for fish, of course-and I’m sure he’d get a kick out of these Australian Santa things, if we brought him backs some.” Replied Ivy, pointing to a shop across the street from the airport selling Christmas decorations displaying a swim trunk-clad Santa holding a surfboard. “As for Dash, he’s a little more, well, stereotypical. He likes designer fashion, sewing, and knitting.”

“There’s a Calibre store at the mall not far from here.” Suggested Graham. “I’m not doing anything today, so I can pick you up from your hotel and take you shopping after you’ve gotten all settled in. I’m afraid you’ll have to get a cab to your hotel for now, since I have to go and pick up Rhys from work.”

“Who’s Rhys?” Carmen asked him.

“He’s my boyfriend, guess I forgot to tell you about him before you got here.” He told her. “Anyways, he’s gonna be right pissed if I’m too late to get him. Call me later when you want to go shopping.”

And with that, he left, leaving the three of them to hail a taxi.

About an hour later, Graham showed up at the hotel to pick them up. The passenger seat of the car was occupied by a man who Carmen assumed was Graham’s boyfriend, so the three of them ended up squishing themselves into the back seat.

“This is, Rhys, my boyfriend.” He told them, motioning to the man next to him. “Rhys, this is Carmen, Ivy, and Shadow-San; they’re friends of mine, visiting from America.”

Rhys smiled politely. “G’day, mate. America, that’s on the other side of the world. Its winter there, right? I head you get a lot of snow up there.”

“We live in California; it doesn’t snow much there.” Replied Carmen. “We do travel a lot, though, so I have been to some of the snowiest parts of the world.”

Rhys nodded. “I’ve never seen snow; never left the country, and its warm all year round here.”

“Believe me, you’re not missing much.” Said Ivy.

They split up at the mall. Ivy went with Rhys to find gifts for Zack and Dash, Carmen went with Graham to do some Christmas shopping of her own, and as for Shadow-San, he didn’t say where he was going, and nobody asked.

“So, you ask that Shelia you told me about out yet?” Graham asked Carmen when they were alone. “I think you said her name was Julia.”

Carmen nodded. “I invited her to our belated Christmas party, but I haven’t formally asked her out yet.”

“You gotta make your move before someone else does.” He told her. “And don’t let little things like her being out of your league, or whatever, keep you from asking her out. Rhys, for example, is a talented up and coming singer, and I thought he would never be interested in a bloke like me. But a few months back, I got up the courage to ask him out, and we’ve been dating ever since.”

“You know what? Next time I see her I’m going to ask her to be my girlfriend.” Said Carmen.

“That’s the spirit, mate!”

After they had finished shopping, they all met up at the food court to get some dinner. Carmen had bought a few last-minute gifts for the rest of her team; Ivy had bought an expensive black blazer from Calibre for Dash and some chocolate and Australian Santa decorations for Zack. Shadow-San had a few bags with him, but nobody asked him what was in them, and he didn’t say.

After they finished eating, Graham drove them back to their hotel and promised to take them sightseeing the next day.

On Christmas day, the three of them went for a ride with Graham and Rhys around Sydney to see the Christmas decorations in the city. Ivy said it felt weird celebrating Christmas when it was so hot out, but for Carmen, it reminded her of her childhood on the island.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be up by the 11th.


	6. Papertiger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Paper Star and Tigress spend the holiday together.

“So, what do you want to do for Christmas, Kitty?” Asked Paper Star.

Tigress shrugged. “I heard they still send out a few operatives on assignments on Christmas, so I was gonna see if I could get send on one of those.”

“That’s not very fun.” Pouted Paper Star. “We don’t get many days off, so why don’t we do something fun together?”

“Do you have anything in mind?”

“Well, actually…”

Tigress would have preferred a trip somewhere tropical, but Paper Star shot down a trip to a beach resort pretty fast.

“You’re a kitty; kitties hate water.” She had said.

If Tigress had more of a say in how the two of them would be spending Christmas, she most certainly would not be in Montreal right now. She hated the cold and the snow. For her, hell freezing over would be much worse than just being in hell in the first place.

Thankfully, Paper Star hadn’t chose skiing as one their vacation activities, as Tigress didn’t know how, and had her doubts about Paper Star knowing how to, either.

They spent all of Christmas eve at a fancy spa. At first, Tigress was skeptical about if they could afford it, but apparently Paper Star had done a favor for Countess Cleo recently and had been paid with vouchers to the spa, as the Countess was uncertain that she would be able to use them before they expired.

The hotel they spent the night in wasn’t nearly as nice as the spa, but it was nowhere close to the worst place Tigress had ever stayed.

The next morning, Tigress found out that Paper Star hadn’t actually planed anything for Christmas day.

“I planned this trip on short notice, Kitty.” She said to Tigress. “I did the best I could with what I had to work with.”

Since most places in Montreal were closed on Christmas day, Tigress suggested they go see a movie.

Before joining VILE, Tigress had often spent her Christmases at the local movie theater. She had never gotten along with her family, in fact, it wasn’t like her family got along with _each other_ , and she always wondered why they even celebrated Christmas together in the first place. When the arguing got too much for her, she would sneak out and go see a movie. The theater was always quiet of Christmas day, no matter what movie she went to.

The nearest theatre was extremely small and was currently only showing two movies; some cheesy Christmas romance movie, and an animated kids movie. Paper Star all but begged her not to make her see the romance movie, so they ended up seeing the animated movie instead.

They ended up spending most of the day just walking around the city. When it started to get dark, they got dinner at a fancy restaurant that was still open on Christmas before heading back to the hotel.

“Aren’t you glad you don’t go on a Christmas assignment, Kitty?” Paper Star asked Tigress as they were getting ready to leave the next day.

Tigress smiled. “You know? I really am.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Half way through! How's everyone liking the fic so far? Anyways, the next chapter will be out by the 13th.


	7. Countess Cleo/Dr. Bellum

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Countess Cleo finally convinces Dr. Bellum to take a day off.

“Saira, its Christmas; why won’t you take a day off?”

“I do not celebrate Christmas.” She told Countess Cleo. “And even if I did, there is too much to do. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to get back to work.”

Cleo and Dr. Bellum had an on and off relationship. As of currently, they had been ‘off’ more frequently than they had been ‘on’. It wasn’t unusual for Bellum to shut herself away for days at a time in her lab, even when the rest of VILE wasn’t working at all. Normally, Cleo would be able to convince her to leave her lab, but more and more often Cleo was finding her efforts to be futile.

“Saira, what could be so important that you can’t stop working for just a few hours?” She asked the smaller woman.

“Important research; you wouldn’t understand. Please leave; I need to focus.”

Normally, when Dr. Bellum was working on a project, there would be notes spread out everywhere and complicated diagrams taped to the wall. But this time, there was none of that. In fact, the only things on her worktable were a few mismatched machine parts and a handful of tools.

“Are you really working on something, Saira, or are you just tinkering around and using that as an excuse?”

Dr. Bellum looked around and sighed. “Fine, you caught me. My inventions have been the only constant in my life, even when the island and my lab are now gone, and I must work out of this unfinished basement, I still have them. When I tinker with my inventions, I am able to escape this cruel world, even just for a little while.”

“We’re all suffering after losing the island.” Replied Cleo. “But you don’t have to go through it alone. How about you take the rest of the day off and spend Christmas with me?”

Dr. Bellum shrugged. “It is worth a shot, I guess.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be up by the 15th.


	8. The Mechanic/The Driver

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When her relationship with The Driver is at stake on Christmas Eve, The Mechanic comes to her senses.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the sake of this fic, the Mechanic and the Driver's real names are Darcy and Ayda respectively.

“Darcy, its Christmas tomorrow. Would it kill you to just take a few hours of tonight, and maybe half the day tomorrow?” The Driver asked.

“I don’t see why I have to waste a day just because of a holiday, love.” Replied The Mechanic. “Besides, if I recall correctly, you don’t even celebrate Christmas.”

“Is it so hard for you to understand that I might just want to have a day off to spend with you once in a while? Every is just work, work, work with you; if you’re not careful, you just might lose me one of these days.”

“Yeah, I agree with you completely, Ayda.” Mutter The Mechanic, not really paying attention to what the other woman was saying. “She’s completely wrong, and you should tell her that.”

“I am going out for a few hours, and when I come back, I expect you to make this up to me. Otherwise, I will be leaving again, and I might not be coming back.” Said The Driver, before making her way out of the garage, slamming the door behind her.

The Mechanic still wasn’t paying attention. “Have fun at the store. Pick up some milk, if you would, love; we’re almost out.”

Fifteen minutes later, the reality of the situation finally hit her. She had ignored The Driver one too many times, and now there very relationship was at stake. She only had a couple hours to try and fix everything, and it wasn’t going to be easy.

Knowing she would have to make the place as festive as possible, The Mechanic quickly rushed out of the garage, hoping to hit a few stores before they closed.

The first place she stopped was a flower shop. The Mechanic always bought flowers for The Driver when she messed something up, and flower shop employees were always willing to help if you ran into the store shouting, “I screwed everything up and now my girlfriend is mad at me.”

The bouquet the florist suggested wasn’t cheap, but it was a small price to pay to save her relationship with The Driver.

Her next stop was the local Tesco. While Tesco did sell flowers, the bouquets they had never looked appealing, and The Mechanic was certain that The Driver would be even more angry at her if she had bought a bouquet from there instead.

Because it was Christmas Eve, there weren’t many holiday decorations left, but she was able to find a small artificial tree, and a few miscellaneous ornaments. She wanted to pick up some holiday cookies, too, but Tesco was out of the premade ones, meaning she would have to try and make them herself.

Once she arrived back at the flat they shared, The Mechanic quickly made a batch of cookies and threw them in the oven. In the time it took for her to set up the little tree with the ornaments, the oven had caught on fire.

As she was in the process of putting the fire out, The Driver happened to walk in.

“Merry Christmas, Ayda.” Said The Mechanic. “I bought you flowers.”

The Driver was more concerned with the oven fire, and quickly rushed to help the other woman put it out.

After the fire was put out, they found themselves standing in the doorway between the living room and the kitchen.

“You did all of this for me?” Asked The Driver.

The Mechanic looked at the mess in the kitchen, and back at The Driver. “I tried, but I still managed to ruin Christmas eve, and maybe even Christmas.”

“The evenings not over; look up.”

A mistletoe decoration hung from the doorway above them.

The Mechanic smirked. “You’re a crafty one, aren’t ya, love? Merry Christmas.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be out the 17th


	9. Moose Boy/Otter Man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Otter Man manages to forget about Christmas until the day before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter got weirdly sad.  
> Also, for the sake of this fic, Moose Boy and Otter Man's names are Henrik and Sven respectively.

Just like any time before when he’d woken up after a migraine, Otter Man felt completely drained. He had suffered from migraines for years, even before he joined VILE, but as of recently, they seemed to be becoming more frequent and worse. For the better part of the last three days, he had been curled up in bed with the lights off, only moving to drag himself to the bathroom to vomit, or when Moose Boy forced him to sit up and drink some water.

He had originally been prescribed two types of pills-one to prevent migraines, and one to help with the pain-after initially arriving at VILE Island, due to suffering from a particularly bad migraine on the first day of classes, but due to the island being destroyed, it was unlikely that he would see a refill of either medication any time soon.

A few months ago, he and Moose Boy had been living in their home country of Sweden, but after a close call with ACME, they decided it would be best to leave. Currently they were living in Glasgow in the apartment of their former classmate Crowley, AKA Alistair. Almost ten years ago, during their academy days, they had shared a dorm with Crowley and three other students. They had all stayed friends after graduating, but nearly seven years ago, after an another member of their group had been killed on an assignment, Moose Boy and Otter Man had a falling out with Crowley. Because of this past falling out, Otter Man hadn’t been thrilled with the idea of living in Crowley’s apartment. Luckily for him, Crowley always seemed to be busy with an assignment, and only really used the apartment to store his things. In the almost three months they had lived there, they’d only seen Crowley once.

Moose Boy was nowhere to be found, but Otter Man found a note on the kitchen table.

_Doing a favor for Alistair,_

_Won’t be back until late._

Doing a favor for Crowley could mean anything from picking up his copy of whatever book he’d preordered from the bookstore, to murder. Thankfully, Crowley hadn’t asked anything too dangerous of them when he asked them to complete a task for him.

Moose Boy would never leave Otter Man on his own in the middle of a migraine attack, but near the end, he was usually okay to be left alone, as he mostly slept at that point.

Still wanting to talk to someone after spending almost three days laying in the dark and in pain, Otter Man called Data on Skype, hoping she wasn’t currently asleep.

Data had been one of his roommates while at VILE academy, and one of the few people from his academy days that he still kept in close contact with. Data was a skilled hacker, and since she could do her hacking from almost anywhere, she chose to live in her home country of Germany, along with her girlfriend; another VILE operative who was a year older than them. Data kept an odd sleep schedule, and unless you could memories her odd pattern, you wouldn’t be able to know if she was currently awake without contacting her.

Luckily, Data was awake, and had likely been sitting in front of her computer before he called.

“Sven! It has been a few days.” She said. “Migraine?”

He nodded “Migraine. Henrik is out doing a favor for Alistair; I have no idea when he will be back.”

“What is he doing for him this time?” She asked. “Perhaps something I would be interested in hearing about?”

Data didn’t go out a lot, as she did most of her work from the shadows. Because of this, whenever something interesting was going on outside of her little world, she liked to know about it.

He shrugged. “Henrik left while I was asleep. His note only said that he won’t be back until late.”

“He should be back by tomorrow morning.” She said. “After all, I don’t think Alistair would have him doing something on Christmas day.”

Otter Man stared at her. “Have you finally lost it, Heidi; there’s no way- _Knulla mig i örat!_ Tomorrow _is_ Christmas.”

As cliché as it was, Otter Man did not like Christmas. He grew up in a broken home with drug addicted parents, so it wasn’t hard to see why. Moose Boy, on the other hand, had a half-decent childhood, and enjoyed the holiday season. If it wasn’t for Moose Boy, Otter Man probably wouldn’t celebrate the holiday at all.

“How in the world did you manage to forget about Christmas?” Data asked him. “Isn’t Christmas Henrik’s favorite holiday? Didn’t he remind you?”

Moose Boy had put up Christmas decorations up on the first of the month, the first day Otter Man would let him.

“Like I said; I had a migraine.” He told her. “My mind is still fairly clouded, and had you not reminded me, I likely would not have remembered until tomorrow morning. _Skit_ , I forgot to get Henrik anything, and it is already a quarter past five! The busses shut down early on Christmas eve, and the only place within walking distance is a Tesco!”

Otter Man couldn’t drive. Even if he could, it wouldn’t matter, as Moose Boy took the car.

“Why don’t you make him something?” Data suggested. “I can send you a recipe for cookies I found online. It’s not too hard; I was able make the cookies, and well, you remember the time I managed to burn those ramen noodles. Don’t worry; it’s in English.”

“Send it, please! I am very desperate at this point.”

She nodded. “Okay; sending. I can’t talk for much longer, though; these Norwegian military documents are surprisingly well encrypted, and I am supposed to be done with them by the end of the month.”

She logged out, but not before emailing the recipe.

The recipe seemed to be a PDF scan of a cookbook, as opposed to being in plaintext. This posed a problem, as it meant Otter Man couldn’t increase the font size on the computer.

Due to an assignment going wrong five years back, Otter Man had very poor vision. Initially after the incident, his sight had been reduced to 20/100. But now, even with his glasses, his vision was down to 20/200, making him legally blind. He had been told that within the next five years, he would almost certainly go completely blind, a fact that he was in denial of, knowing what it would mean for his future at VILE if he were to lose his sight completely.

Otter Man did his best to copy down the recipe large enough so that he could read it, and he was pretty sure he got most of the important parts. Had Data not been busy, he would’ve asked her to do it for him, as her eyesight was nearly perfect.

The vision issue came up again at Tesco when it came to reading the packages. Because of his terrible eyesight, Otter Man couldn’t always read what food packages said, making shopping difficult. This was the reason Moose Boy usually did the grocery shopping, as Otter Man’s denial of the fact he was going blind meant he wouldn’t ask store employees for help and would insist he was capable of finding everything on the list on his own.

In hindsight, because of his eyesight, Otter Man probably shouldn’t have been using the oven at all, and it was surprising that he didn’t start a fire. After taking the cookies out of the oven, he passed out on the couch, still feeling completely drained.

When Otter Man woke up the next morning, he was no longer on the couch, and instead found himself in bed. He assumed Moose Boy had carried him to bed last night, after returning to find him passed out on the couch. Moose Boy had always been the brawn of their duo and could easily pick up the smaller man if needed.

Otter Man really didn’t want to get out of bed; he was still tired, and the wooden floor of the apartment was usually freezing on winter mornings. But since he knew Moose Boy was probably waiting for him, he dragged himself out of ben anyways.

Moose Boy was in the kitchen making breakfast.

“Morning, Sven!” He said.

“Morning.” Otter Man muttered back, looking around the kitchen. “Henrik, do you know what happened to that batch of cookies I left on the counter last night?”

“Why, were you saving them for something?”

“They were supposed to be your Christmas present. Did you do something with them?”

“I didn’t know you were saving them, so I tried one last night after I got home.” Replied Moose Boy. “It wasn’t very good-I think you may have mixed up the salt and sugar again-so I ended up throwing the rest of them away, sorry.”

Otter Man sighed. “I was afraid that would happen; I couldn’t read the recipe well, either. I forgot about Christmas, I’m sorry. I’ll have to make it up to you later.”

Moose Boy pulled him into a hug. “I don’t care if you get me anything for Christmas; I’m just happy that we get to spend time together, and that you’re feeling better. I love you.”

“I love you to, Moosie.” He replied simply. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be up the 19th.


	10. Zack and Ivy (Before they met Carmen)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They didn't have much, but at least they had each other.

“Here’s to another crappy year.” Said Ivy, twisting the cap off a cheap bottle of beer.

She and Zack had lost their parents to a car accident a few years back, and since then, they’d been staying in a crappy apartment, committing petty crimes just to get by, but at least they had each other.

In order to try and make it seem more like Christmas, they had added a few holiday decorations to their apartment. This included so lights and garland they’d picked up at a thrift store, an old and scruffy Santa Claus decoration that the old lady who lived next door had been getting rid of, and a Christmas tree that looked like they’d stolen it off Charlie Brown.

“Hey, sis!” Called Zack, rummaging through the fridge. “Do we have any more beers?”

“Nope, this is the last one!” She shouted.

“Well, could you run out and get more? I lost my fake ID, but you’re old enough to get it without a fake.”

“Zack, you idiot; you just got that fake last week.” Said Ivy. “If you want another, you’re gonna have to pay for it yourself; Devin does good work, so the fakes he sells aren’t cheap. Besides, its Christmas. The liquor store is closed today.”

Zack sighed. “Well, that’s a shame. I guess we can still order Chinese, though; those places are always open on Christmas.”

“You’d have to go pick it up if we did, bro; nobody will deliver to this shithole anymore after that pizza guy got shot here two months.” Replied Ivy. “Well, there was one chicken place that still delivered here after that incident, but I heard they’re not doing delivery right now. Apparently, their main business rival made a call to immigration, and got most of their kitchen staff deported. So basically, all the delivery drivers are working in the kitchen until they hire more staff.”

Zack looked out the window, the city below was covered in a deep blanket of snow. “On second thought, I think we should just stick with that frozen pizza we have.”

Ivy looked at him. “You’re really that lazy, aren’t ya?”

“Hey! Its cold out there!” He argued. “Besides, would _you_ want to go outside when the weather is like this?”

Ivy glanced out the window. “Fair point. Would you mind putting that pizza in the oven already, bro? I’m starving.”

“Of course, sis.”

They didn’t have much, but at least they had each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be up the 21st.


	11. Team Red Christmas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Team red spends a belated Christmas together.

When Carmen returned to the hideout with Ivy and Shadow-San after flying back from Australia, she was surprised by how well decorated the place was. The tree she had bought was set up in the corner, lights and garland hung from every wall, a stocking had been hung for each of them, and a plate of Christmas cookies sat on the table. Zack and Dash had done a great job while everyone else was gone.

When she walked in, she found Zack and Dash on the couch together, Dash laying across the couch with his head in Zack’s lap while Zack played with his hair. They didn’t bother moving from that position, even when they saw Carmen.

“So, the party isn’t for a couple more hours, right, Carm?” Asked Zack.

Carmen looked at her watch. “Actually, I just have to go pick up Jules, and then we’re going to get started.”

Dash suddenly stood up. “Oh crap, that leaves me almost no time to change and do my makeup.”

“Babe, you look fine as it is.” Replied Zack. “Besides, its just gonna be us and Julia, and you hardly ever wear makeup around the house.”

“I picked out an outfit specifically for this party, and dammit, I am going to look my best!”

Carmen left before she found out how the situation played out.

When Carmen spotted Julia at the airport, she noticed that the other woman wasn’t wearing her usual suit, instead going with a sweater and a pair of jeans. Julia looked absolutely gorgeous, even in such a simple outfit.

“Jules, over here!” Shouted Carmen, as she saw the other woman leaving the gate.

Julia smiled at Carmen and walked over. “I have to pick up my suitcase, then we can leave.”

Carmen eyed the leather bag Julia was holding suspiciously. “I’m sorry for being so paranoid, but ACME didn’t put any tracking devices or anything like that in your bag, right?”

“No; I’m using my vacation time, and ACME doesn’t track our personal lives unless they feel there’s a reason to. They don’t know you’re living in America, so as far as anyone at ACME knows, I’m just on vacation and don’t need to be monitored.”

“Sorry, Jules; I just worry since ACME’s still hunting me down like an animal. So, anyways, how was your flight?”

“Not bad, actually.”

After they picked up Julia’s suitcase, they headed to the parking lot. Julia didn’t protest being blindfolded in the van. As much as she would have like to know exactly where Carmen lived, she understood that the woman had a good reason for keeping it a secret.

Carmen led Julia inside her hideout before removing the blindfold.

Zack, Ivy and Shadow-San all sat in the living room together, but Carmen noticed that Dash was not among them, and she worried that the fact that Julia was an ACME agent might have scared him into hiding in his and Zack’s room for the duration of the party.

“Where’s Dash?” She asked.

“He’s still getting ready.” Replied Zack. “You know how he is with his makeup.”

Carmen was relieved. Dash had only just started getting comfortable with the idea of living in the same house as his former enemies, and she didn’t want to ruin it now.

They had installed a camera system that connected to their TV in the living room so that Player could communicate with everyone without having them crowd around a little laptop. Carmen turned on the TV and the camera system, and after getting a notification that Carmen was trying to call him, Player turned on his webcam as well.

“Happy holidays, Red.” He said with a smile. “Is everybody here?”

“Dash is still getting ready.” She told him. “I left almost an hour ago to pick up Jules, so he should be out soon enough.”

As if on cue, Dash finally entered the living room wearing a red and black sweater with a geometric design, and a matching pair of pants.

Zack looked his boyfriend over. “I guess its true what they say, babe; you can’t rush perfection. You look wonderful.”

Dash smiled and sat down next to Zack. “Thanks, sorry for being a little late, but I wasn’t given the proper amount of time to get ready.”

“Oh, Red, I got your package in the mail a few days back.” Said Player. “Can I open it yet?”

“Go right ahead.” She told him. “We sent you a few gifts, and we wanted to wait until the party for you to open them. I guess we can exchange gifts now, if everyone wants.”

Nobody seemed to have a problem with that.

Player tore through the box to find the gifts, which included an elephant figurine from India, an anime plushie from Japan, a bunch of American candy that Zack had picked out for him, and a scarf that Dash had made.

“Wow, Red, I can’t believe you guys got me all this stuff.” He said. “Thanks.”

“Just because you’re not physically with us, doesn’t mean that we wouldn’t get you anything.” Replied Carmen.

Dash passed out the gifts he had for everyone next, each was something he had knitted or sewn. Ivy got a suit jacket that he had designed specifically for her, Carmen received a pair of red knitted gloves, Shadow-San was given a knitted balaclava-type mask, perfect for heists in cold weather or where he needed to hide his face, and Julia received a scarf that looked like it would go surprisingly well with her ACME suit.

Julia hadn’t expected to get any gifts (although, she did bring gifts for everyone else), especially not from an ex-VILE operative who knew full well that she worked for ACME.

They all thanked Dash for their gifts before each being handed a gift by Zack, all of which were food related. At first, Julia assumed that he had simply forgotten to buy gifts for everyone earlier, and had run out and picked up something quick the day before, but on closer inspection, she could see that he had really put a lot of effort into getting everyone something they liked.

Next, Shadow-San passed out the gifts he had bought, all of which he had spent a lot of time picking out for each person. He gave Carmen a black stuffed lamb, Zack a bunch of snack foods from different parts of the world, Ivy a few books on building and repairing cars, Dash a necklace that was a near-replica of one that he had left behind after fleeing VILE, and Julia a nice sweater.

Carmen followed up by passing out the gifts she had bought. She got Zack a couple of video games, Ivy a new tool set, Shadow-San a mug that said, “World’s best dad”, Dash a few skeins of yarn, and Julia a necklace and bracelet set.

Ivy then passed out the presents she had gotten, including the chocolates and Australian Santa decorations for Zack, the blazer from Calibre for Dash, a shirt that said, “I love my idiot children” for Shadow-San, a few red flannel shirts for Carmen, and a few Boston-themed souvenirs for Julia.

Lastly, Julia passed out the gift she had brought, which included some French snacks for Zack, a skein of yarn for Dash, a box of chocolate for Ivy, a fully functional replica samurai sword for Shadow-San, and a lovely red necklace for Carmen.

“This is very nice yarn.” Said Dash. “Where did you ever-“

He looked at the tag and suddenly dropped the yarn before heading into the kitchen to wash the skin that had come into contact with the yarn.

“Zack, can you please go and get me some Benadryl?” He asked from the kitchen.

As Zack ran off to go and retrieve the medicine, Carmen picked up the yarn and read the label.

“This is acrylic yarn.” She told Julia. “You had no way of knowing this, and I probably should have told you, but Dash is allergic to acrylic yarn; it makes him break out in hives.”

“I’m so sorry!” Shouted Julia. “I didn’t mean to-“

Carmen cut her off. “Hey, its not your fault; everybody understands that. Dash’s allergy isn’t a life or death kind of thing, either; he’ll be fine.”

Despite all the effort they put into trying to prevent it, Dash still ended up breaking out in hives, and decided to leave the party early, along with Zack. Zack did come back to grab some food for the two them later on but retreated to their bedroom right after.

As everything started winding down, Carmen finally had a moment alone with Julia.

“Jules! I have something to ask you.” She said.

“Huh?”

“Would you like to go out with me sometime?” She asked. “I mean like on a date.”

Julia smiled. “I would love that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The final chapter will be up by the 23rd. I have plans for ther fics, but probably won't have time to start on them until after Christmas.


	12. Christmas Future

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everybody comes together and spends the holiday in San Diego once again.

Now that everyone lived far away, Carmen and Julia didn’t see them as much. They still lived in San Diego, having converted the hideout into more of a proper house, but everyone else had settled down somewhere else.

Dash and Zack had moved to a town just outside of Boston and had adopted two kids; Gabriel and Elsie. Gabriel was twelve, and a bit of a troublemaker. Ivy (who lived in the same town with her wife but had decided against having kids) had once mentioned that he acted a lot like Zack did at that age. Ten-year-old Elsie was almost the opposite of her brother, instead taking more after Dash.

Antonio and Jean-Paul now lived in Colorado. Originally, they hadn’t planned to stay in the States at all; only planning to stay of the property that belonged to the now deceased, ex-VILE operative Bobcat until they could find someone willing to take care of her property and animals permanently. Eventually, they did, however, grow to like the farm, and decided to stay there. Much like Zack and Dash, they had also adopted kids; thirteen-year-old Fleur, ten-year-old Isabel, and six-year-old Félix.

Shadow-San had decided to spend the rest of his life in Japan, only really coming back for the holidays.

“When are they going to be here?” Carmen and Julia’s ten-year-old daughter Sophie asked. “I want to see my cousins!”

Despite not being related, the kids always regarded each other as cousins.

“They’ll be here soon.” Replied Carmen. “Your _maman_ went to pick up grandpa from the airport, Uncle Zack and Uncle Dash will be here with your cousins and aunts around dinner time, and Uncle Antonio and Uncle Jean-Paul will be here will your other cousins in about an hour.”

Because none of the parents had parents of their own (or perhaps they didn’t get along with their parents), all of the kids called Shadow-San Grandpa, and he saw all of them as being his grandchildren. The last time Carmen had gone to visit Shadow-San in Japan, she noticed that he had a ton of pictures of all the kids all around his house. He really did love his grandchildren.

Every year, everyone would spend Christmas eve and Christmas day in San Diego at Carmen and Julia’s place. The converted warehouse was more than large enough to fit all the families, so it was the perfect location. Every year on Christmas eve, Shadow-San would fly in from Japan. Dash and Zack, along with their kids, and Ivy and her wife, Launa, would fly in from Massachusetts. Antonio, Jean-Paul, and their children usually just drove up to San Diego from Colorado, as it was often easier than flying.

Just about the time when Julia was returning home with Shadow-San, Antonio and Jean-Paul’s car pulled up. The two youngest kids immediately got out of the car as soon as it stopped, running in to see everybody and forgetting about all the luggage and presents still in the car.

“Isabel!!” Shouted Jean-Paul. “Your sister is helping us with the luggage, and you should be, too.”

“They are just excited to see their cousin and aunts again.” Said Antonio. “Just give them a minute, _mi amor_ ; I am sure they will be back to help us after that.”

The two children seemed to have other ideas; instead running inside to play with Sophie. Fleur began to complain about how unfair it was that she was the only one helping.

“Isabel! Félix!” Jean-Paul yelled again. “If you do not want to be grounded for Christmas, I suggest you get back her are help us this instant!”

The two children groaned before making their way back to the car. They didn’t want to help unpack the car, but they also didn’t want to be grounded for Christmas.

“Sophie, go help your uncles and cousins.” Shadow-San said to his granddaughter as he sat on the couch. “I would help them myself, but I’m not as young as a used to be and can’t carry as much anymore.”

“Okay, grandpa.” Sophie got up without argument and ran to help.

All of the kids knew better than to cross Shadow-San. As much as he loved the children, he was strict but fair when it came to disciplining them.

Zack, Dash, and their two children arrived just before dinner. Gabriel and Elsie were bickering about something, Dash looked exhausted, and Zack seemed just fine. Shadow-San sent the other children out to help them unload their things from the taxi.

Despite seeing their cousins, the two children didn’t stop arguing until Shadow-San went outside and told them to stop. By the tone of his voice, they knew he was serious, and stopped fighting instantly, running over to help bring things in.

Ivy and Launa pulled up in another taxi not long after. After bringing in the much smaller amount of luggage they had, along with an armload of gifts each, they started helping Zack, Dash, and the kids.

As soon as they were done unloading the cab, Dash flopped down on the couch, exhausted.

“I haven’t slept in almost two days.” He said. “I was up all last night getting things ready for this trip, since Zack and the kids did a horrible job packing before they went to bed, and of course, Zack didn’t wrap the gifts like I had told him to, so I had to get that done myself last night. I was planning on sleeping on the plane, but the kids had to get into a hypothetical argument about if a Scooby Doo monster could fit on a carnival ride or not, so they kept me awake the entire flight.”

“Those two can get really heated with their hypothetical arguments.” Added Zack. “One time they spent three days arguing about if a Charizard could win a fight against Iron Man. I can’t even remember how we got them to stop that time.”

“I do.” Replied Dash. “The argument started at the beginning of a three-day weekend, and they were still arguing about it in the morning before school. After a day of classes, they forgot about it, so it wasn’t anything we did.”

“Dinner’s ready.” Carmen called from the kitchen. “Hurry up and get in here before it gets cold.”

After dinner, Dash headed straight to bed.

“I am exhausted, so unless there is a fire or any other legitimate emergency, do not wake me up.” Dash told Zack and the kids. “I also don’t want to be woken up before six tomorrow, so if you wake me up between now and tomorrow morning without a reason that I would consider to be good, you kids will be grounded for a week, and Zack, you will be sleeping on the couch during that time.”

“Hey, how is that fair?” Zack protested. “Babe, how is it my fault if the kids wake you up?”

“You’re a parent; I expect you to keep an eye on them so that doesn’t happen.” Replied Dash. “Gabriel, Elsie, even if you get up before six you are not allowed to start opening your presents until I am up. Your grandfather will make sure that you do not open any gifts until everyone is up.”

“But what if we wake up super early and we’re bored?” Asked Gabriel. “What should we do then?”

“You kids have tablets and Nintendo’s, use those.” Dash told him. “Or if any of your cousins are awake, you can play with them. Just be quiet and try not to bother anyone. I’m going to bed now; no more questions.”

After playing outside a bit, the kids all settled down to watch a Christmas movie. Félix was put to bed at around 7:30, followed by Sophie, Isabel, and Elsie at 8:30, and finally Gabriel and Fleur at 9. All of the adults were in bed by 10.

“Wake, up; its Christmas!”

Dash ignored his excited children for a second to look at the clock. It was 6:01; they had interpreted his words fairly literally and technically waited until after six to wake him up.

Zack was almost as excited as the kids when he woke up.

“Get up, babe!” He shouted to Dash. “It’s Christmas!”

With a groan, Dash pulled himself out of bed, knowing he’d have to deal with hyper kids all day. Gabriel and Elsie were always a handful of Christmas day, partially due to the excitement, partially due to all the sweets they would most certainly eat.

With the exception of Zack and Antonio, all of the adults looked tired and not all that enthusiastic about the holiday. As the kids were busy tearing through their plies of gifts, occasionally handing an adult a gift with their name on it, Carmen put on a pot of coffee.

After everyone had had their coffee, they were more awake and ready to open their presents.

Carmen received a jewelry set from Julia, a red knitted sweater from Dash and Zack (she always wondered how Dash managed to find time to knit and sew with two kids), a nice bottle of wine from Antonio and Jean-Paul, a few books she had been meaning to read from Ivy and Launa, and a figurine of a black sheep from Shadow-San.

Zack got knitted gloves and a matching hat from Dash, and food from pretty much everyone else.

Julia received a photobook from Carmen and Sophie, a nice jacket from Zack and Dash, some French pastries from Antonio and Jean-Paul (that Antonio had baked himself), a framed painting print from Shadow-San, and a box of chocolate from Ivy and Launa.

Dash received a box of his favorite chocolates from Zack, a few skeins of yarn from Carmen and Julia (Julia made sure that they weren’t acrylic), some fancy fabric from Japan from Shadow-San, a book of things he could sew/knit for the kids from Ivy and Launa, and some more fabric from Antonio and Jean-Paul.

Ivy received a new tool set from Launa, a handmade quilt from Zack and Dash, a bottle of fancy Sake from Shadow-San, a pair of cute collars for her cats from Julia and Carmen, and some homemade cookies from Antonio and Jean-Paul.

Antonio received a photo album from Jean-Paul and the kids filled with pictures they had taken over the years, a knitted hat from Zack and Dash, some Japanese cookies from Shadow-San, a little mole figurine from Ivy and Launa, and a fancy set of spices from his home country of Spain from Julia and Carmen.

Jean-Paul received a handwritten memory book from Antonio, a pair of gloves from Zack and Dash, a framed photograph of Mount Fuji from Shadow-San, a book about the best mountain climbing spots in Colorado from Julia and Carmen, and a little goat figurine from Ivy and Launa.

Launa received a necklace from Ivy, a knitted scarf from Zack and Dash, a bracelet from Shadow-San, a few books from Carmen and Julia, and a nice pair of earmuffs from Antonio and Jean-Paul.

Instead of everyone getting Shadow-San a gift individually, they all got him one gift together; a huge photo album full of pictures of his grandchildren.

As the kids were finishing up opening their gifts, Dash looked around the room. “That is a lot of gifts; I think we might have to mail some of our kids gifts back home.

Antonio nodded. “ _Si,_ I do not think all of the gifts will fit in our car.”

Carmen looked around the room and smiled. Just because almost nobody was technically related, didn’t make them any less of a family, and didn’t make the holidays any less wonderful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I guess we're done with this. What was your favorite chapter?
> 
> I haven't had much time to write (this was done ahead of time), but I should have something posted by the 1st.


End file.
